


Ocean Breeze, Take Me Back

by Tsubame_go



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, mermaid au, merman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 03:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11614617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsubame_go/pseuds/Tsubame_go
Summary: Every year Jaebum finds different, interesting things on the seashore.  This year he finds a merman.





	Ocean Breeze, Take Me Back

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this like nine months ago and figured since JJP are having their comeback soon I might as well finish it. This isn't beta'd at all so sorry for any typos. I hope you enjoy it.

There’s something melancholy about the beach during the cold seasons.  Perhaps it’s just the emptiness or the chill in the breeze, or maybe it’s just the fog.  It’s really not surprising that no one visits the seaside in the autumn.  No one except for Jaebum and his idiotic group of friends.  It all started when they were in high school and Jackson got his first car.  Jackson had insisted on renting a big house on the beach for a few days during break even though it was October.  Jaebum has no idea what put the idea into Jackson’s head.  Ever since then the six of them rent a house on the beach together every fall.

Jaebum likes walking along the sand by himself.  The sound of the waves and the feel of the sand, gritty and cold on his toes make him feel at ease.  He can be at peace with his thoughts outside the noise and hustle and bustle of Seoul.  Sometimes he finds interesting objects on the beach, like sea glass or an oddly-shaped piece of driftwood.   When he finds something particularly special he takes it home with him to remind him of the tranquil mood of the ocean.

Today the others are up at the house preparing dinner while Jaebum walks alone under the cold, late-afternoon autumn sun.  It’s raining lightly and there’s a chill in the air that makes Jaebum pull his hood up tightly around his face.  It’s low tide, but a storm is supposed to come in the night so Jaebum was eager take a walk now in case he doesn’t have the chance later on.  Jaebum maneuvers around a pile of rocks and driftwood, careful not to step in the tide pools and disturb the critters within.  He’s about to turn around and go back to his friends when he notices a dark figure lying in the sand.

At first he thinks that it’s another visitor like himself who decided to nap on the sand, although why anyone would want to lay on wet sand in the cold autumn weather is beyond him, but then he notices that the figure seems to have a tail.  Curious, Jaebum decides to investigate.

When he comes closer he finds a boy sprawled out awkwardly on the sand. His short, dark hair is wet and he looks up at Jaebum with distain and nearly-concealed panic in his dark eyes.  Instead of legs, he has a long scaly tail.  His scales are dull and bloody in places, as though they’ve been irritated by rubbing against the hard sand.  Jaebum pauses for a few minutes and just looks at him, unsure of what to do.  He’s never met a mermaid before.  Jaebum has heard the local stories, but he’s always assumes that they were just legends.  He never imagined there could be any truth to him, but now a real live mermaid is splayed out before his eyes.

“Are you a mermaid?”  Jaebum asks stupidly. The boy sighs at him in exasperation.

“I’m a mer _man_.”  He corrects, gesturing to his bare chest.  Jaebum gapes at him and he stares back almost boredly.

“Are you… Are you okay?”  Jaebum says, gazing at the merman’s bloody tail.

“I’m _fine_.” The merman replies defiantly.  “I just lost track of time and the tide went out and left me here.  I’m just waiting for high tide.”  Jaebum frowns at him.

“There’s a storm coming in, will you be okay swimming?  Your tail doesn’t look too good.”  The merman looks offended.

“I’ll be _fine_.” He insists.  “I’m a strong swimmer.”  Somehow Jaebum doesn’t find his words very convincing.

“There’s a jacuzzi at the place I’m staying.”  Jaebum tells him hesitantly.  “I could take you there and then bring you back to the sea when the storm’s gone.”

The merman looks at him in confusion.  “A… what?”

Jaebum tries not to giggle.  The merman has obviously not had much contact with humans.  Jaebum finds his lack of understanding a little cute.  “It’s like a big bowl of warm water.”  He explains, trying to use words that the merman will understand.

“I don’t need your help.”  The merman insists.

“Well, I don’t want you to drown in the storm because you can’t swim properly with an injured tail.” Jaebum counters.  “I’m taking you up to the house.”  He decides.

The merman tries to protest as Jaebum lifts him into his arms.  His blows are feeble when he slaps at Jaebum’s arms, but Jaebum doesn’t know whether it’s because of his weakened state or because he really is afraid of the storm but is too proud to say so.  His tail is surprisingly smooth considering its damaged state and warmer than Jaebum expected.  After been carried for a few minutes the merman gives up on struggling and sets an arm loosely around Jaebum’s neck.

“Do you have a name?”  Jaebum asks when they’re almost to the stairs leading up to the house.

“Do you need to know my name?”  The merman mutters.

“I need something to call you.”  Jaebum states, wondering if all merpeople are this difficult.  The merman says something under his breathe that Jaebum can’t hear.  “Sorry?” 

“Jinyoung,” The merman sighs. “You can call me Jinyoung.”

 

When they get to the house, Jaebum can hear his friends chattering inside and briefly wonders how he’s going to explain Jinyoung.  He feels a bit guilty for exposing Jinyoung to more strange humans, but he reasons that it’s better than leaving him on the beach to potentially drown in the storm.

“Hyung! You’re back!”  Jaebum hears from behind him as he pulls the cover off the Jacuzzi.  He turns around to see Jackson.  “Wow!”  Jackson’s eyes widen with surprise when he notices Jinyoung laying on the deck beside Jaebum.  “This is way cooler than that shell you brought back last year!  A real live mermaid!”

“Mer _man_!”  Jinyoung growls.   Jackson jumps in surprise.

“He even speaks Korean!”  Jackson shouts in excitement.  “This is so cool!  You have to show the others, Hyung.”

“His name is Jinyoung,” Jaebum tells Jackson.  “And I didn’t bring him here for you to gawk at.  He was stranded on the beach and I didn’t think he’d fare well in the storm.”  Jaebum gathers Jinyoung back into his arms to lift him into the Jacuzzi.

“I thought mermaids were saltwater creatures.”  Jackson wonders aloud.  Jaebum panics.  Maybe if they pour all the salt from the kitchen into the tub with Jinyoung it’ll work…

“Mer _men_!” Jinyoung corrects again, cutting off Jaebum’s thoughts.  “And we can live in both.  I have a cousin who lives in the Han River.”   Jackson reels back, exclaiming over these new pieces of information. 

“Are warmer temperatures okay for you?”  Jaebum asks tentatively before lowering Jinyoung into the water.

“They’re _fine_.”  Jinyoung says with exasperation.  “Plenty of merpeople live in hotsprings.”

“If you’re sure.”  Jaebum lets the merman splash into the Jacuzzi.  “Jackson, I’m going inside to explain to the others.  If you’re going to stay out here try not to bother Jinyoung too much.”   Jaebum tells Jackson and hesitantly walks away.  He feels bad about leaving Jinyoung for some reason, but he thinks it’ll be better to tell the others before they see a stranger sitting in their Jacuzzi and freak out.

 

When Jaebum enters the house, he finds Mark and Youngjae by the door preparing to take Coco out for a walk.  He can hear faint chatter coming from the kitchen, where Yugyeom must be helping Bambam cook dinner.

“How was your walk, Hyung?”  Youngjae greets him brightly, looking up from fastening Coco’s collar.

“It was nice.” He answers. “A bit rainy, but that’s typical for this time of year.”  He pause, trying to think of the right way to explain that he brought a merman back from the beach and put him in the Jacuzzi.  “I found something… Unusual on the beach.”

“Another cool shell?” Youngjae asks, glancing at Jaebum’s pockets as if expecting him to pull something out.

“No.” Jaebum replies.  “An injured merman.” He continues deciding to just spit it out. Mark stops tying his shoelace and looks up in confusion.  Youngjae stares at him openmouthed.

“A… A what?”  Youngjae asks softly, eyes still wide.

“A merman.” Jaebum confirms. “He’s in the Jacuzzi right now.  I think Jackson’s talking to him.”

“Is this some sort of failed joke?”  Mark asks quizzically.  “Last time I checked merpeople were mythical creatures.”

“That’s what I thought too.”  Jaebum scratches his head awkwardly.  “I’m going to go tell the maknaes.  You two can go see him for yourself if you’re curious.”  Jaebum leaves them glancing at each other in confusion.

When Jaebum enters the kitchen Yugyeom is leaning casually on Bambam’s shoulders as Bambam stirs a pot on the stove.  They’re both giggling about something that must have been said before Jaebum entered the room so they don’t notice Jaebum’s presence until he announces himself.

“Hi Hyung,” Yugyeom turns away from Bambam to greet him.  “We’re working hard, but dinner won’t be ready for a while yet.”

“I didn’t come to talk about dinner.” Jaebum tells them.  “I brought something- I mean someone – back from the beach and I don’t want you guys to freak out.”

“Did you finally find your dream guy?” Bambam teases.  Jaebum feels his face heat up involuntarily.  Jinyoung is an undeniably attractive merman, but he didn’t have any dubious intentions when he brought him up to the house.

“Was it love at first sight?”  Yugyeom hoots, taking advantage of Jaebum’s momentary loss of words to tease him further.

“It’s not like that.” Jaebum insists.  “I didn’t find my dream guy on the beach- I found and injured merman.”  Bambam and Yugyeom dissolve into laughter.

“If you wanted to mess with us,” Yugyeom chokes out between giggles, “you should have made the story more believable.  Mermaids don’t exist, hyung.”

“Well, go outside and tell me there isn’t a merman in the Jacuzzi then.”  Jaebum challenges, annoyed by all the unwarranted teasing.  Still scoffing at him, Bambam and Yugyeom hurry outside to the deck.  Jaebum follows after them grudgingly.

 

Mark and Youngjae are already crowded around the Jacuzzi with Jackson, lips flapping with questions, eyes fixed in wonder on Jinyoung.  Jinyoung is sitting as far away from them as he possibly can, mouth stubbornly closed, eyes gazing off at the ocean.  Yugyeom and Bambam run forward when they catch slight of him, eager to peek into the tub to confirm that he has a tail.  Jinyoung turns his head suddenly at the sound of new voices and his eyes flash.  As soon as Jaebum is within a few feet of the Jacuzzi Jinyoung lifts his tail out of the water and brings it down with a loud splash.  A wave of hot water hits Jaebum straight in the face and the others jump back in alarm.  Jaebum is so preoccupied by blinking the hot water out of his eyes that he doesn’t notice the livid expression on the merman’s face until it’s too late.

“If you brought me here just to show off to your friends I’ll drown all of you!”  Jinyoung shouts.  Jaebum is still wincing from the sting of hot water to the eyes.  His friends step back, suddenly aware of the merman’s potential hostility.  “You don’t know shit about merpeople, do you?”  Jinyoung continues.  “If I wanted I could curse all of you for generations or turn you into crustaceans!” Jinyoung pauses, breathing heavily.  “You should be grateful that so far I’ve stayed my hand!”

“Go back inside.” Jaebum mutters to his friends.  “I’ll deal with this.”

Jackson opens his mouth and closes it like he was going to say something and thought better of it.  Yugyeom and Bambam looked stunned.  Jackson throws his arm around Yugyeom’s shoulders and grabs Bambam by the hand, pulling them both back inside.  Mark and Youngjae grimace and leave the deck to walk Coco like they originally intended.  Jaebum waits for their voices to fade before he approaches Jinyoung.

“Are you going to carry me back down to the sea or do I have to drag myself down the stair and flop down to the shore by myself?”  Jinyoung asks, still simmering with anger.

“Jinyoung,” Jaebum pleads, about to formulate an apology.  Jinyoung doesn’t wait for him to finish his thought.

“Guess that means I’m on my own then.” Jinyoung snaps and hoists himself out of the jacuzzi by his arms, landing on the hard wood deck with a loud thunk. Jaebum watches speechlessly for a moment as the merman drags himself across the deck with his arms, tail flopping uselessly behind him.  Jaebum sighs and walks over to him.

“I’m sorry Jinyoung.”  Jaebum says, squatting down in front of him.  “I didn’t bring you here to show off to my friends.  I’ll talk to them and make sure they agree not to tell anyone about you if that’s what you’re worried about.”  Jaebum tentatively touches Jinyoung’s shoulder.  “I know you’re still angry, but I don’t think the ocean is safe for you right now.”  Jaebum sighs and tries to catch Jinyoung’s eye.  The merman is still pointedly avoiding eye contact.  “Let’s get you back into the tub, I promise I’ll take you back to the ocean once the storm passes.”

Jaebum half expects the merman to struggle when he gathers him into his arms and hoists him back into the Jacuzzi, but Jinyoung is limp and quiet through the entire ordeal.   He winces when his forearm brushes Jaebum’s shoulder and Jaebum notices splinters lodged in his skin, presumably from dragging himself across the wood.

“I’m going to go back inside and talk to my friends.”  Jaebum tells Jinyoung once the merman is settled back in the hot water.  “I’ll come back once I’m done and help you with your splinters.  Stay here okay?”   Jinyoung sullenly nods in reply.

 

“Did you bring that merman here to punish us?”  Bambam asks when Jaebum enters the kitchen.  “I swear, I’ll never make you pay for anything again if you put him back in the ocean before he turns me into a crab.”

“No, Bambam, I only brought him here because he’s in bad shape.”  Jaebum sighs.  “I think he’s more scared of you than you are of him.”

Bambam looks back at him skeptically.  “The last time you used that logic I got stung by a bee!” Yugyeom exclaims in protest.

“Gyeommie is right.”  Bambam decides.  “I don’t care if he’s afraid of us.  He belongs in a horror movie.  I’m not going onto the deck until he’s gone.”

Jaebum gives up on trying to persuade them further.  He grabs a pair of tweezers in a drawer in the bathroom and heads back outside to attend to the injured merman.  Jinyoung is facing away from Jaebum when he finds him, head is barely visible above the top of the tub. Jaebum pauses for a moment, realizing that he should have changed into swim trunks before coming back out.  It’ll be a lot easier to help Jinyoung get his splinters out if he sits in the hot tub with him.  He internally debates going back in to change before settling on going into the tub fully clothed.  It’s not like he didn’t bring a change of clothes.  Besides, he wants to give the maknaes space to cool off from their tiff regarding Jinyoung.  Jinyoung doesn’t say anything to him as he lowers himself into the water.  The merman just stares at him, expression unreadable. He’s almost fully submerged, only his eyes peek out above the surface.  Jaebum looks back at him and they hold eye contact silently for an awkward minute.  When it’s clear Jinyoung isn’t going to talk unless Jaebum prompts him, he clears his throat and tries to be cordial.

“Can I see your arm?”  He asks tentatively.  “I brought tweezers to remove those splinters.”  He grins awkwardly and brandishes the tweezers.

“Twee… What?”  Jinyoung cocks his head in confusion.  Jaebum blinks, taken off guard.  He should have realized that a merman might not be familiar with human tools.

“It’ll help with getting the splinters out.”  Jaebum explains lamely.  Jinyoung looks suspicious, but stretches a skinny arm into Jaebum’s reach anyway.  “It’ll probably hurt a little.”  Jaebum warns as he positions the tweezers above a particularly large splinter in Jinyoung’s forearm.  

“I’m not afraid of pain.” The merman insists stubbornly.  Jaebum takes that to mean ‘go ahead’ and pulls the woodchip out of Jinyoung’s arm swiftly.  Jinyoung flinches visibly at the unpleasant sensation, clearly not as tough as he wants Jaebum to believe.  The hardest part in getting the splinters out of Jinyoung’s palms.  When Jaebum starts to pull one out Jinyoung balls his fists as he flinches, negating any possibility of success and occasionally causing the splinters to bury themselves deeper into his flesh.  The sky is completely dark by the time they get all of them out.

“Can you really turn people into crabs?”  Jaebum asks as he examines Jinyoung’s arms one last time, searching for any splinters he might have misses.

“Probably not.”  Jinyoung admits grudgingly.

“ _Probably_ not?”  Jaebum raises his eyebrows at the merman, wanting more clarification.

“Merpeople can only use magic when we really, really want to.”  Jinyoung explains.  “We have to desire something from the bottom of our hearts for it to come into effect.  And even then there are limits.”   Jinyoung hesitates.  “There’s a story we tell our children about a mermaid who fell in love with a human and wanted to be a human so much that she managed to change herself with magic.  In the end the human rejected her and she killed herself in despair.  I don’t know if it’s true or just a made up story to deter kids from swimming too close to the shore.”

“We have a fairytale like that too.”  Jaebum tells Jinyoung.  “Except in the human version the man does love the mermaid and they live together happily.”

Jinyoung frowns and shrugs at him.  “Our version seems more realistic.”

Jaebum laughs and pats Jinyoung’s bare shoulder lightly. “To each their own.”

 

 

After pronouncing Jinyoung splinter free, Jaebum goes back inside to check on the others.  Mark and Youngjae are back from their walk and everyone’s already eaten without him.  They’re all sitting around the table talking quietly, empty bowls in front of them.  At first none of them seem to notice Jaebum and he feels a little hurt, but then Jackson looks up and meets his eyes.

“There’s still soup in the kitchen, help yourself Hyung!”  Jackson says when he notices Jaebum.  The murmurs fall silent when the rest of his friends are alerted to his presence.  _So they were talking about me_ , Jaebum thinks.  He thanks Jackson and shuffles into the kitchen to get food.  The table is still silent when Jaebum sits down, the sound of him sliding his chair out and the clink of his bowl on the table seem to dominate the room.  Yugyeom and Bambam are looking anywhere but Jaebum, Youngjae is fiddling with his sleeve, Mark seems unperturbed and meets Jaebum’s eyes as he glances around the table, Jackson gives him a weak smile and opens his mouth to speak.

“So Hyung,” Jackson begins awkwardly.  “How’s your merman?”  Jaebum sees Mark suppress a giggle across the table and cringes at Jackson’s choice of words.

“I got all the splinters out of his arms, but I still don’t know what to do about the wounds on his tail.”  Jaebum answers honestly.

“He let you touch him?”  Bambam asks in disbelief.  Yugyeom also stares at Jaebum with raised eyebrows, clearly having the similar feelings to Bambam but not the guts to voice them.

“He isn’t going to turn anyone into crabs, you two.”  Jaebum sighs.  “He doesn’t even have the power to… probably.”

“Probably?”  Mark prompts.  In contrast to the maknaes, Mark seems to find the whole situation amusing. 

“It’s a long story,” Jaebum answers lamely.  Bambam and Yugyeom remain stubbornly horrified and a giggle escapes Mark’s lips.

“Well, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom,” Jackson states, obviously trying to diffuse the tension.  “There might be something in there you could patch up his tail with.”

“Thanks Jackson.”  Jaebum turns attention towards his food and away from his friends.  “I’ll see what I can do for him once I finish.”

 

When Jaebum finds him, Jinyoung’s eyes are closed and his head is leaned up on the head rest.  His dark locks fall over his forehead and into his eyes, now practically dry from the cold air.  Jaebum wonders if the merman has ever had dry hair before.

“Jinyoung?”  Jaebum calls out over the sound of rain drumming heavily on the bit of roof over hanging the deck, wanting to make him aware of his presence before he reenters the tub.  

Jinyoung lets out a little sigh and blinks open his eyes.  He draws his hand out of the water and drags his fingers through his dry hair.  Jaebum can see the red marks from where the splinters were on the merman’s arm.  He sees Jinyoung look up at the roof in wonder.  “I never knew rain could be so loud,” he murmurs, before turning his gaze on Jaebum.  “What is it now?”

“I wanted to look at your tail,” Jaebum says, and Jinyoung stares at him quizzically. Jaebum holds up the first aid kit. “I don’t know if anything in here will help, but it’s worth a try, right?”  Jinyoung gives him a noncommittal shrug in response.

He soon realizes that it’ll be impossible to bandage an appendage that’s submerged in water.   He looks for water proof bandages, but finds none in the plastic box.  The only mildly useful thing he comes across is disinfectant, which Jinyoung is vehemently opposed to.

“How do I know it won’t dry out my scales?”  The merman argues.  Jaebum has to admit that he has a point, but he doesn’t want to give up so quickly.

“If you don’t like how it feels you can just wash it off.”  Jaebum tries to compromise.  “It’s better to be safe.   How long were you lying in on the sand for?  Who knows what kind of bacteria might have gotten into those cuts.”   Jaebum wants to ask how he got trapped on the sand, but he feels like it would be too invasive.

Jinyoung eventually grudgingly agrees to let Jaebum apply disinfectant to his tail.  At first Jaebum wants to take him out of the tub to have better access, but Jinyoung insists on keeping part of himself in the water. He rests his torso on the highest step and lets his tail lie on the side of the tub.  Jaebum thinks he looks awkward and uncomfortable, but if that how Jinyoung wants it he isn’t going to dare to complain.

Jaebum starts by rubbing the disinfectant cream on Jinyoung’s fins, and then moves up the tail.  Jinyoung twitches as he rubs the salve into his scales but is quiet.  His back is arched over the side of the tub as he floats on his back in the water with his eyes closed.  If he were a human, the position would be quite erotic. Jaebum wonders how merpeople reproduce without… human genitals.  He almost asks Jinyoung but quickly thinks better of it.  He doesn’t want to risk offending the merman and being the cause of another tantrum.  The silence is getting awkward though, so Jaebum racks his mind for some way to make conversation.

“How come you speak Korean?”  He asks lamely.  Jinyoung opens his eyes and gazes up at him quizzically. 

“All merpeople know Korean or whatever human language is closest to their shore in case we end up in situations like this where we have to deal with stupid humans.”  Jinyoung answers grudgingly.

“Oh.”  Jaebum thinks on the answer.  “If merpeople have to talk to humans so much, then why don’t humans know you exist?”

“Because humans don’t want us to exist.” Jinyoung tells him.  “Your friends didn’t believe you at first, did they?” Jaebum shakes his head and Jinyoung nods, unsurprised. “We don’t want you to think we exist either.  Just think what human scientists might try to do to us if they knew we were real.  We wouldn’t be safe.”

“But couldn’t you protect yourselves with magic?” Jaebum asks, wondering just how powerful the merpeople are.

“Full grown merpeople definitely can, but not children.  If human scientists got their hands on a merbaby it would be helpless.”  Jinyoung explains.

Of course he had to say something to make Jaebum’s mind go back to reproduction.  He’s half way done disinfecting Jinyoung’s tail, soon he’ll hit the scales right below Jinyoung’s waist, where his private parts would be if he was human… Jaebum sincerely hopes that merpeople can’t read minds. He decides to ask another question to try to get his mind out of the gutter.

“How many merpeople are there?”  Jaebum wonders aloud.

Jinyoung narrows his eyes at him. “Why do you care? Planning to come hunt us down for science?” Jinyoung accuses.

“No! No! it’s not like that! I was just curious!” Jaebum hastily defends himself.  “It’s just if there’s a lot of you if must be hard to keep so well hidden from humans.”

“I’m not telling you our secrets.” Jinyoung says stubbornly

“I’m not asking you for them.” Jaebum assures him.

 

The sky is dark by the time Jaebum finally finishes disinfecting Jinyoung’s tail. He yawns as he watched the merman slide himself back into the tub, almost completely submerging himself in the water.

“It’s time for me to go to bed, will you be okay out here?”  Jaebum asks.

“I’ll be fine.” Jinyoung answers.

“If you’d rather, I could take you inside and keep you in the bath tub- that like this only smaller and inside the house-”

“I know what a bathtub is!” Jinyoungs tells him fiercely.

“If you don’t want to be out here in the wind and the rain I could take you there.” Jaebum offers.

“I’m fine.  I’ll sleep under the water anyway.” Jinyoung insists.

“Well, if you’re sure suit yourself.” Jaebum shrugs. “In the morning I’ll take you back down to the ocean if the storm’s cleared up.  Good night!” Jaebum says awkwardly. Hesitantly, he reaches out at pats Jinyoung gently on the head.  Jinyoung doesn’t move, his expression unreadable as he gazes back at Jaebum.  Jaebum can still feel the weight of his gaze as he walks back into the house.

 

Jackson is lying on his bed scrolling through his phone when Jaebum enters the room they share. He looks up at the sound of the door opening, puts his phone aside and sits up.

“So Hyung,” Jackson begins. “How’s your merman?”

“He’s not _my_ merman.” Jaebum states before answering. “I disinfected his tail so I think he’ll heal okay.  I’m planning on taking him back to the ocean tomorrow if it clears up by then.”

“Shame.” Jackson yawns. “I was almost starting to like him.”

“You barely talked to him.” Jaebum points out.

“It’s hard not to like a merman though,” Jackson counters.  “What did his tail feel like?  Is he warm blooded or cold blooded? Do all merpeople speak Korean?”

“His tail was… sort of warm?” Jaebum answers hesitantly.  He feels weird talking about Jinyoung like he’s some exotic creature instead of a person, even if he isn’t human.  “Maybe that means merpeople are warm blooded but I wouldn’t know.” He continues.  “He said merpeople learn human languages for situations like this where they have to communicate with people.”

“Facinating.” Jackson yawns again. “He’s pretty cute.  If he didn’t have a tail I’d suggest you ask him to date you.” Jaebum cringes at his words. Why do his friends have to be so invested in his nonexistent love life?  “How long have you been single for?”

“You’re one to talk.” Jaebum responds gruffly, trying not to get irritated. “How long have you been pining after Mark without gathering up the guts to say something?”

“Fair enough.” Jackson admits and lays back down on his bed.  “I’m going to sleep now, Hyung. You can turn the light off whenever.” He rolls on his side so his back is facing Jaebum’s side of the room and Jaebum is left to think in silence as he washes up and changes for sleep.

 

The next morning is bright and clear, the storm having passed over completely in the night.  When Jaebum walks out on to the deck after breakfast to check on Jinyoung the sky is cloudless and blue.  Jinyoung is awake, his head above the surface of the water in the Jacuzzi, staring out at the ocean in the distance.

“Did you sleep well?” Jaebum asks and Jinyoung turns toward him, hearing the sound of his voice. Jinyoung just looks at him for a moment, as if lost for words before he responds.

“I slept as well as I could in this small thing.” There’s a strange lilt to his voice that Jaebum doesn’t quite know how to interpret.  Maybe he just misses the ocean after being away for a night.

“Well, as it cleared up, I can take you back to the sea now.” Jaebum tells him.

Jinyoung looks a bit startled. “O-Oh,” is all he gets out at first, then he swallows. “Okay.”  He moves to the edge of the tub so Jaebum can scoop him up in his arms.  The injuries on his tail and the cuts from the splinters on his arms already look better.  Maybe merpeople just have a faster healing rate.

Jinyoung is quiet as Jaebum carries him down to the beach.  Jaebum is oddly hyperaware of Jinyoung’s arms clasped around his neck and the feel of his scales and bare back against his arms.  Jinyoung’s gaze is fixed on the ocean for the most part, but every so often his eyes flick up to Jaebum’s face and he gets an odd expression in his eyes.  Jaebum doesn’t know what to make of it.  He wants to say something as this is probably his last chance to talk to Jinyoung, but he can’t think of what to say.  Before he knows it, they’ve already reached the beach and it’s almost time to say goodbye.  Jaebum wades waist deep into the cold water before he lets Jinyoung slip out of his arms and back into the water.

“I guess this is goodbye then.” Jaebum says awkwardly.

“Yeah.” Jinyoung says softly. “Thank you for… For everything. I know I was difficult.”

“You were.” Jaebum laughs. “But it was the least I could do.”

Jinyoung takes a breath in and Jaebum waits, half expecting him to swim away and out of Jaebum’s life. Instead, Jinyoung remains there, staring into Jaebum’s eyes. 

“Wait here for a moment.” Jinyoung finally says. “I want to give you something.”

Jaebum blinks in surprise and opens his mouth to say something, but Jinyoung disappears under the surface before he can formulate a sentence.  He stays put just like Jinyoung asked and he doesn’t have to wait long.  Within minutes Jinyoung reemerges, clutching something in his hand.

“Your friend said you like collecting shells from the beach,” Jinyoung explains. “So I thought you might like this.”  He holds out his hand to Jaebum, a pretty medium-sized shell sitting in the palm of his hand.

“Thank you.” Jaebum tells him and reaches out his hand to grab it.  As he touches the shell is suddenly feels hot and he can see light emulating from the shell beneath his fingers.  It only lasts for a moment though.  As he examines the shell in his hands it looks different, instead of the plain white shell he saw in Jinyoung’s hand the shell he holds seems to be made of crystal.  He holds it up to the light and is sparkles in the sun.

“Wow,”  He exclaims, turning to marvel at Jinyoung. “Merpeople magic is really amazing.  This is really beautiful, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung stares at the shell in his hand, seemingly startled. “I… I didn’t know I could do that.” Jinyoung admits.  “I just wanted to thank you and I guess….” He trails off awkwardly.

“You’re really amazing, Jinyoung.” Jaebum tells him.  “I’ll keep this forever and remember you.”

Jinyoung reddens.  He leans forward suddenly and Jaebum is afraid he’s going to attack him for a moment, but instead he feels soft lips brush his cheek.  He wants to pull Jinyoung close and press a kiss on his mouth, but Jinyoung is too quick for him.  He disappears uunder the waves before Jaebum can do anything about it.  Jaebum watches his form rush away from him, agile and graceful in the water.

“JINYOUNG!” He shouts as the merman disappears into the distance, unsure in Jinyoung can even hear him. “I’LL COME BACK NEXT YEAR!”


End file.
